JGP Austria 2012 Men's Preview

JGP Austria Men's Preview

The men's field here at Linz is definitely not as strong as the men's fields were at Courchevel and Lake Placid. Consequently, I think Ryuju Hino, the bronze medallist from Courchevel, has a very good chance to win here. The two skaters vying for the silver and bronze are two youngsters who have never competed in a JGP before, Jin Seo Kim of Korea, and Nathen Chen of the USA. It is difficult to predict their scores, since they have never competed on the JGP, Nathan because this is the first year he has been eligible for the JGP. Nathan has been working on his triple axel. If he tries it, he may well miss it, as he did in some summer competitions in the USA. None the less, he is a charming, crowd pleasing skater, even though he is very small. While Jin Seo Kim has not competed on the JGP, he is an experienced performer with Yu Na Kim's All That Skate Ice show, and is the Korean Senior Champion. Behind these three skaters, there are a large group of skaters whose personal best scores are in the 160's if achieved internationally, or a little higher, if achieved in their own national competitions. If I had to pick one dark horse from that group, it would be Feodosiy Efremenkov RUS. His scores in Russian competitions have been much better than his Youth Olympic score. If those scores are a better representation of his skill, he might snag the bronze.

Ryuju Hino JPN
SP TaTaKu (best of Kodo) by Tetsuro Naito, Motofumi Yamaguchi
LP Robin Hood (soundtrack) Michael Kamen
His coaches are Hiroshi Nagakubo, Y. Naruse, M. Kawaume, Y. Hongo, and his Choreographer: Kenji Miyamoto. He is 17, and is the reigning Japanese Junior Champion.
His best total score was 182.71 at JGP Volvo Cup last year, about the same as his score at Courchevel of 181.61
He was 9th at the World Junior Championships last year.
Ryuju Hino won the bronze at JGP Courchevel this year.
Here's his SP from that event.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IXum2YyJMI

Nathan Chen USA
SP "Prelude and Allegro" by Franz Kreisler
LP Three Musketeers soundtrack
His coaches are Rafael Arutyunyan, Nadia Kanaeva, & Vera Arutyunyan. His choreographers are Rafael Arutyunyan, Nadia Kanaeva (SP), S& tephanee Grosscup (FS)
Nathan is 13 years old. He won the Gardena Spring Trophy last sprint. JGP Linz is his JGP debut.
This summer he scored 69.32 in his SP at Golden West.
Nathan won US Junior Nationals last year. Here's his LP. He was 12 at the time., and scored 193.20. He has been trying to add a triple axel to his programs this summer, with mixed results.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJB_fUtT1tU

Niko Ulanovsky GER
SP Criminal St. Petersburg (soundtrack)
LP Master and Margarita (soundtrack) by Igor Korniliuk
Niko's coach is Martina Dieck. His choreographers are Vitali Schulz and Iwo Svec. He is 15.
He is the German Junior National Champion. He finished fifth at the Youth Olympics 2012, where he earned his personal best of 158.47,
This FS is from the NRW trophy, where he scored 166.07.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WZ6otKSiPs

Petr Coufal CZE
SP The Last of the Mohicans (soundtrack) by Trevor Jones, Randy Edelman
LP Black Beauty (soundtrack) by Danny Elfman
Petr's coach is Ivana Tokosova, and his choreographer is Alexei Vasilievski. He is 17.
He is the current Czech Junior Champion. He placed seventeenth at the Junior World Championships last year with a score of 161.10, his personal best score.
From his ISU biography, Coufal's sister Jana (two years younger) is a competitive figure skater as well. His mother Alena (nee Drevjana) was an Olympian and world competitor in gymnastics.
His SP from Junior Worlds:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PUXW6exbPc

Viktor Romanenkov EST
SP Tango d'Amore by Edvin Marton
LP Prince of Egypt (soundtrack) by Hans Zimmer
His coach is Anna Levandi, & his choreographer: Anna Levandi, Kaarel Väli. He will turn 19 later this month.
Viktor is the Estonian champion in Senior Men's. He finished twenty-third at Europeans last year. His best ever score of 162.19 was earned at JGP Tallinn last year, where he finished sixth.
He gave this exhibition a month agohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAfYbY6ZlRY
His short program from JGP Tallinnhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Cq-lY41UU

Feodosiy Efremenkov RUS
Feodosiy's ISU bio has not been updated with his music.
His coach is Alla Ivanova, but he was previously Nikolai Morosov until this summer..
Feodosiy is 16.
His personal best in ISU competition was 163.46, achieved at the Youth Olympics in 2012, where he finished third..
He placed fourth at the Russian Junior Nationals. His best National Level Score was at Spartakiad of Youth, where he finished first in Juniors : 197.34.
Feodosiy lands 8 triples in FS (including 3A twice). 3A+2T, 3F+3T. Spins 3 level, StSq 2 level (at most).
He has been a member of Team Russia in the 2007/08 season, and from 2009/10 season to now.

Jay Yostanto USA
SP "Hollywood Nocturne" and "Caravan" by Brian Setzer Orchestra
LP "Reflections of Passion" by Yanni, "Eclipse" by Cirque du Soleil
SP costume designed by Pat Pearsall, FS costume designed by Mare Talbot
Jay's coaches are Derrick Delmore & Karen-Kwan Oppegard. His choreographer is Derrick Delmore
Jay is 18 years old.
He placed seventh in Juniors at the US Championships last season
He achieved his personal best score of 164.57 at JGP Trofeo W. Lombardi last year, where he placed fifth. Here is his SP from that competition:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPlY3jd6nNs.

Sei Kawahara JPN
SP Sing Sing Sing by Louis Prima
LP The Last Samurai (soundtrack)
His coaches are Miwa Ishihara & Kensuke Nakaniwa. His choreographer is Kenji Miyamoto He is 16.
Sei placed fourth in Juniors at Japanese Nationals.
His personal best of 160.49 occured at the JGP Volvo Cup last year, where he placed sixth.
His LP from Volvo Cup:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YumHcC_cVlg

Mitchell Gordon CAN
SP Music Short Program / Short Dance as of season2012/2013 The Untouchables (soundtrack) by Ennio Morricone
LP Ochestral medley of Neil Diamond songs, including Song Sung Blue, Play Me, Caroline, and Forever in Blue Jeans
His coaches are: Keegan and Eileen Murphy. His choreographer is Mark Pillay
His personal best score of 145.04 was earned at JGP Tallinn last year, where he placed seventh. He is the current Canadian Junior Men's Champion.
His FS from the YT/BC SummerSkate, which Mitchell won with a total of 160.15http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri9pJYS9P2A

Manuel Drechsler AUT
SP New Kids Turbo by Beat the Hardcore
LP Ghost Love (soundtrack) by Tuomas Holopainen
Coach: Pavel Laurencik Choreographer: Miroslava Hajkova
Personal best total score: 85.08 Youth Olympic Games (15th Juniors)
He competed on the JGP last year at Baltic Cup & JGP Austria.
Manuel's long program from The Challenge Cup this spring, where he finished tenth.:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF2Qc3Jo2SY

Simon-Gabriel Ionian AUT
Simon-Gabriel is 17. His ISU biography has not been updated since the 2010/2011 season.
His coaches are Radu Ionian & Uwe Kagelmann
He finished fourteenth at Coupe de Nice last season with a score of 98.89
He finished seventh at the Coupe de Printemps Luxembourg.
I have not found any videos of him.
Here is a photo & article (in German) about him and his brother Mario-Rafael Ionian. Both are skaters.http://www.vol.at/feldkirch/bruederp...00223-11043890

Johannes Maierhofer AUT
SP Music by Parov Stelar
LP The Three Musketeers (soundtrack) by Michael Kamen
D'Artagnan by Maxime Rodriguez
Johannes is coached by Julia Lavrenchuk. His choreographer is : Oksana Dujunova
He is fourteen years old, and this is his international junior debut.
Johannes' novice program from The Challenge Cup this spring, where he finished ninth in Novices.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4omsr7L18xE

Pavel STRAKACH BLR
SP Tango
LP (If any one can recognize what it is from the video, below, I hope you will please post its identity.
Pavel is 17. His ISU bio has not been updated.
He was 5th at his senior National Championships two years ago. He was 13th in juniors at Coup de Nice in 2011.
Pavel's LP from JGP Courchevel, where he finished twenty-first with a score of 90.33, which is his first and best ISU score.. This was his first JGP appearance.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUVGpl7n5RY

Jordan Ju TPE
SP Perry Mason Theme by Earle Hagen
LP Malaguena Blast (soundtrack); Malaguena performed by Gypsy Kings; Malaguena by Forever Cello
Jordan's coach is Joanne McLeod. He is 17.
He is the Senior Men's champion of Taipei. His personal best score of 134.97 was achieved at the 2012 Four Continents Championship, where he finished twenty first. He just won the bronze medal in Juniors at the Asian Trophy.
Here is his free skate from Four Continents:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nQzDjVmikQ

Matthias Versluis FIN
SP Infiltrado by Bajofond; Grand Guignol by Bajofond
LP Two Weeks Notice (soundtrack) by John Powell
His coaches are Virpi Horttana and Oleg Vasiliev. His choreographers are Pasquale Camerlengo, Tamara Selin, & Oleg Vasiliev. Matthias is 18.
He is the Finnish silver medallist in Senior Men. He finished twenty first at the World Junior Championship with a score of 143.20, his personal best.
His short program in Seniors at the 2012 Nordics, where he placed fifth.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SlB2cs0oo0

Giorgio Settembrini ITA
Giorgio has no ISU bio. He is 17.
He placed third at the Italian National Championships in the Junior Division.
His SP from the Gardena Spring Trophy this spring, where he finished seventh in the Senior men's division with a score of 116.02.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cb6BtNP4_s

Sondre Oddvoll Boe NOR
SP Crime Speed from Dick Tracy by Danny Elfman; The Strength of the Righteous from The Untouchables by Ennio Morricone
LP Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
His coach is Coach: Berit Steigedal, and his Choreographers are: Rostislav Sinizyn, Kaja Hanevold. He is 14.
He finished 3rd in Novices at the Challenge Cup last March.
Sondre made his JGP debut at Courchevel, where he finished fourteenth with a score of 114.49, which is his first ISU score.
His SP from Courchevel:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrylAot_3Kw

Andrei Lazukin RUS
Andrei has no ISU bio at this time. He will make his JGP debut at Linz. He is 14, almost 15.
His coaches are Tatiana Mishina & Oleg Tataurov.
He was thirteenth at Russian Junior Nationals with a score of 153.55.
He skated on the Russian Cup series last year, finishing as high as fourth and as low as eighth. His best score there was 172.84, at the second stage.
Final of Cup of Russia 7th, Spartakiad of Youth 5th, Rissan National (elder age) 1st.
Best score in Juniors in competition inside Russia was 186.84.
He has landed seven triples in a long program, including triple lutz triple toe and triple flip triple toe.
He is a member of "Team Russia" this season..

Marco Klepoch SVK
SP Perfect Day for a Murder - The Pink Panther by Christophe Beck
LP Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
His coach and choreographer is Vladimir Dvojnikov. He is 14, and will turn 15 soon.
He achieved his best score of 93.10 at JGP Austria last year.
His short program from JGP Austria 2011.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vyt4-e8KhM

Krištof Brezar SLO
SP Sherlock Holmes (soundtrack) by Hans Zimmer
LP Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows (soundtrack) by Hans Zimmer; The Bourne Ultimatum (soundtrack) by John Powell
His coach is Darja Skrlj, and his choreographe is: Badri Kurashvili.
Kristof is 15, nearly 16.
He finished thirteenth at the Triglav Trophy in juniors earlier this year. He first appearance on the JGP will be here at Linz.
A montage of his skating:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6eIQ96gHAI

Nicola Todeschini SUI
SP The Artist (soundtrack) Ludovic Bource
LP Sexbomb (soundtrack) by Andy Caine; Car Wash (soundtrack) by Andy Caine; In the Libary (soundtrack) by Marius Vries
Nicola's coaches are Myriam Loriol-Oberwiler & Philippe Pelissier. His choreographers are Stephanie Ferrer-Pelissier (SP) & Joelle Muller(FS). He is 15.
He earned his best score of 128.98 at the Youth Olympic Games in Juniors, where he finished tenth..
Nicola's free skate at The Challenge Cup in juniors, where he finished fifth.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSHEYDm01SY

Suchet Kongchim THA
SP Deliverance by Yanni Music
LP Crimson Rhapsody by Ikuko Kawai
His coach and choreographer is Rui Pang. He is 18.
His personal best of 88.6 was earned at JGP Brisbane last year, where he placed
His SP from that eventhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Lseu1TSBU
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Can't wait to see how Nathan Chen does in his debut. If the assessment is correct that the field is not as deep, that will be an advantage.

Nathan's problem is that he looks 13-often a disadvantage. At least neither Brown, Farris, or Jin or equivalent is at this competition. However, there is a very large group of guys in the 160-170 personal best score region, and one or more of them could have stepped it up over the summer. Lake Placid had Farris & Tanaka, and Courchevel had Jiang & Brown.